Corporate Climate Litigation in the Americas:
Legal Strategies, Challenges, and Trends

American Regional Summit & U.S. National Conference

BIICL Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation

The American Regional Summit and U.S. National Conference of the BIICL Global Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation will bring together leading experts, academics, practitioners, and scientists to explore the evolving landscape of corporate climate litigation across the Americas.

As climate-related lawsuits against corporations continue to grow in number and impact, this summit will provide a platform for comparative legal analysis, strategic discussions, and knowledge exchange on key litigation trends, procedural and substantive legal challenges, and the future trajectory of corporate accountability for climate-related harms.

The event will feature a keynote address by Professor Michael Gerrard, Founder and Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, and expert panels covering key jurisdictions across the Americas and will take stock of the research and insights from the National Reports for the USA, Canada, and Brazil, as well as the comparative analysis of the Global Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation. The discussions will address:

• Emerging trends and major cases shaping corporate climate litigation in the Americas.
• Legal arguments and defenses used in corporate climate cases.
• Procedural hurdles, including standing, evidentiary challenges, and causation.
• Judicial perspectives and remedies in corporate climate litigation.

  
The summit will conclude with an interactive session focused on future directions for litigation, policy, and legal reform in the region.

The event is organised by Dr. Ivano Alogna and Crisela Bernardino from the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL); Prof. Michael Mehling from the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Strathclyde Law School; and Helene T. Krasnoff and Jarryd Page from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI).

Supported by the Climate Change Law Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, this event is part of the BIICL Global Toolbox on Corporate Climate Litigation, a research initiative mapping legal tactics used in climate litigation involving corporations worldwide and fostering collaboration among legal experts, practitioners, scientists and the judiciary.

Read the National Reports and Executive Summaries here:

Programme*

April 1st, 2025

9:00-9:15 AM - Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Sandra Nichols Thiam, Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
• Michael Mehling, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Strathclyde Law School
• Ivano Alogna, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL)

 
9:15-9:40 AM - Opening Keynote Address

Michael Gerrard, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University

9:40-11:00 AM - Session 1: State of Play and Emerging Trends in Corporate Climate Litigation Across the Americas 

• Ivano Alogna, BIICL (Moderator)
  
• United States: Jarryd Page, ELI
• Canada: Hassan Ahmad, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (online)
• Brazil: Danielle de Andrade Moreira, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and JUMA

  
11:00-11:30 AM - Tea/Coffee Break

11:30 AM-1:00 PM - Session 2: Key Legal Issues in Corporate Climate Litigation Across the Americas

• Francesco Sindico, University of Strathclyde Law School and Climate Change Law Specialist Group, WCEL-IUCN (Moderator)
• Barnali Choudhury, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
• Kristine Perry, ELI
• Gabriel Wedy, Federal Judge, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

1:00-2:00 PM - Lunch

2:00-3:30 PM - Session 3: Procedural Challenges in Corporate Climate Litigation Across the Americas

• Michael Mehling, MIT (Moderator)
  
• Pilar Moraga Sariego, Universidad de Chile
• Delta Merner, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Rodrigo Manrique Garcia, Universidad Cientifica del Sur
    

3:30-4:00 PM - Tea/Coffee Break

4:00-5:30 PM - Session 4: Key Takeaways and Future Directions for Corporate Climate Litigation Across the Americas

• Kristine Perry, ELI (Moderator)
• Maria Antonia Tigre, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University
• Randall Abate, The George Washington University Law School
• Rosalía Ibarra Sarlat, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (online)
• Maria Juliana Pedraza, Interamerican Institute on Justice and Sustainability
  
  

*Please note that this programme is subject to change.

Registration

This event is free to attend, but pre-registration is required. For online participation, register here. For in-person attendance, register here.

There will be simultaneous translation to and from Spanish and Portuguese throughout the event.

Judicial Training

As part of the Summit, we are also hosting "The American Judicial Training on Corporate Climate Litigation" on 2 April 2025, online.
This closed-door training is exclusively for judiciary members from the legal systems of Canada, Mexico, Central and South America.

PROGRAMME

🔹 11:00-11:10 | Welcome Remarks (Ivano Alogna)
🔹 11:10-12:00 | Session 1: Key Causes of Action in Corporate Climate Litigation
   • Tort Law & Human Rights (Maria Antonia Tigre & Barnali Choudhury)
   • Company Law & Greenwashing Claims (Hassan Ahmad & Randall Abate)
🔹 12:00-12:15 | Break
🔹 12:15-1:05 | Session 2: Procedural Challenges in Corporate Climate Litigation
   • Standing & Justiciability (Gabriel Wedy & Pilar Moraga Sariego)
   • Evidence & Causation (Rodrigo Manrique Garcia & Delta Merner)
🔹 1:05-1:30 | Session 3 & Final Discussion: Remedies in Corporate Climate Litigation
   • Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Remedies (Michael Mehling & Danielle de Andrade Moreira)